Chapter 108: The drive home
The drive home was a quiet one. From the moment Lena entered the car, she hadn’t said a word to me, not even a simple "hi." I had decided to drive her back home myself because I couldn’t take any chances. I knew this was how she would respond to my care, or rather to me, after everything I had done to hurt her so deeply. Still, I wished things were different, better.
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. The first thing I noticed when she got into the car was how much weight she had lost. Her face looked thinner, her cheeks slightly hollow, and there was a fragility about her that hadn’t been there before. It bothered me more than I cared to admit. I made a mental note to ensure she was placed on a proper, healthy diet once we got home. She needed to regain her strength, physically and otherwise.
This was one of the reasons I had called the three women to my house the previous day, right after Damon informed me that Lena would be discharged.
"The reason I called you all here is because Lena will be discharged tomorrow, and I want you to do me a favour," I said, looking at the three of them seated across from me.
"Anything you need, just say it. If it’s something we can help you with, then why not?" Mama said softly. I nodded, but my gaze shifted to Sylvia, who had been sitting quietly, glaring daggers at me.
"I can’t make any promises," she finally said, her tone cold and guarded.
"I don’t want Lena to stay with you anymore, Sylvia," I said.
Her eyes narrowed instantly. "You’d better have a good explanation."
"Hear me out," I continued calmly. "My reason is simple. She isn’t safe outside my walls. I need her close so I can protect her. We still haven’t found the people who did this to her, and if they did it once, they can do it again. I want her where I can keep her safe."
"Well, you could have thought about that before throwing her out of your house for saying she loves you," Sylvia shot back, dropping the bombshell without hesitation.
"What?!" Mama exclaimed in shock, her eyes widening.
"Oh, you think I don’t know?" Sylvia continued, letting out a humourless laugh. "You threw her out because she said she loves you, and now you’re here claiming to love her? And you expect me to believe a single word you say?"
I sat there, watching her lash out. In a way, I deserved every bit of it. I needed her help, so I let her words pass without interruption.
"So you know you’re the reason she was kidnapped?" she pressed.
"I know that, and I take the blame," I said, my voice tightening with anger, mostly at myself. "I know it’s because I sent her out of my house, where she could have been protected. I left her exposed, and I’m trying to fix that."
"No," Sylvia cut in sharply. "You think that’s the only reason?"
I frowned slightly, but she didn’t give me a chance to respond.
"Lena has no one, absolutely no one," she said, her voice rising with emotion. "You saved her from her abusive family. You gave her a life she had always dreamed of. You made her feel loved. Hell, you protected her, something she had craved her entire life. And then she fell in love with you because she finally felt safe... and what did you do? You threw her out."
Her words hit harder than I expected.
"You think she went back to meet her father because she forgot everything he did to her?" Sylvia continued, her voice dropping lower, more intense. "You think she wanted to forgive him that easily? No, she didn’t."
My eyes darkened as I realized where she was going with this.
"She was searching for love," Sylvia said quietly.
"Craving it. She was alone, Raymond. She needed to fill the gap you left behind, just like she did when her mother died. She filled that void with Ashley and Evans, overlooking their flaws because she didn’t want to be alone."
Each word felt like a blow to my chest.
"And the saddest part?" Sylvia added. "She has learned to bottle up her emotions so well that she would never tell you any of this. Losing her child, the one person who would have never left her, what do you think that did to her?"
I sat there, stunned by the weight of everything she had just said.
She gave a wry smile. "In a way, Lena is broken. She needs therapy, because she might never love again. So if you’re taking her back, it will be on one condition, you will be there for her no matter what. You will make sure she gets the help she needs. And you will never throw her out again when things get difficult."
"I’m disappointed in you, Raymond," Mama said, still visibly shaken. "I know you’ve done a lot of things and gotten away with them, but this... this is too much. You threw her out because she said she loves you? That’s just ugly. I support Sylvia. You need to fix this, and we won’t interfere if you do exactly as she said."
"I support Sylvia too," Bertha added. "Lena is a good girl. She’s like a daughter to me. She deserves all the care and love she can get."
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Everything Sylvia had said was true. I had never looked at it from that perspective before, but hearing it now made me realize just how much of a jerk I had been.
"I promise I’ll treat her well," I said finally. "I’m not asking her to be my girlfriend right now, not yet. Maybe in the future. But for now, I just want to be there for her. To protect her and take care of her. That’s all I’m asking."
I paused before continuing.
"So I need your help. When she’s discharged tomorrow, I want all of you to refuse to let her stay with you. Help me convince her that she has to stay with me, only me."
"What if she refuses and decides to get her own place?" Sylvia asked. "You know she has her own money."
"That’s why you need to make her see reason," I replied. "Help her understand the danger of living alone right now. And if possible, make her realize that she’s safest with me, which is the truth."
Sylvia studied me for a moment before sighing.
"Alright. I’ll try my best because I can see you’re serious. But the moment you hurt her again, you’re never getting anywhere near her. In some ways, I’m like a sister to her. I’ve known her for years, even before you. She was there for me when I needed it, even if she didn’t realize it. So now it’s my turn to be there for her. And I’ll be damned if I let you, or anyone else hurt her again."
"Thank you, Sylvia. It means a lot," I said sincerely.
She only nodded, and my gaze shifted back to the other two women.
"Well, since you’ve promised not to hurt her anymore, we’ll do our best to help you bring her back home," Mama said, with Bertha nodding in agreement.
Relief settled in me, and after we finished discussing and planning, I thanked them before they left.
Now, as I drove into my compound and glanced at Lena beside me, a small smile tugged at my lips. The plan had worked. She was here, riding home with me.
When we arrived, I stopped the car and quickly stepped out, intending to open the door for her. But before I could get around, she had already opened it herself and stepped out.
I raised a brow slightly at that.
"Have one of your maids or bodyguards bring my things to my room," she said coldly. "I don’t want to see you or have anything to do with you during my stay here. I’ll be staying in the guest room, so you have no reason to enter my room whatsoever."
She paused briefly, her eyes meeting mine with a distant, unreadable expression.
"Don’t think that because I agreed to stay with you, I’ve forgiven you."
With that, she turned and walked into the mansion without waiting for a response.
I stood there for a moment, surprise flickering in my eyes before a faint smile followed.
"That’s progress," I muttered under my breath.
At least she had spoken to me without shouting or breaking down. The last time we had argued, she had threatened to kill herself, and then me. Compared to that, this was an improvement.
As I watched her disappear into the house, I knew it wouldn’t be long before she started to soften. I just had to prove how sincere I was.
"Boss, is there anything you need us to do?" Sullivan’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I turned to see him standing beside Eric.
"Yes," I said. "Get your madam’s things into the house."
I noticed Sullivan stiffen slightly, probably because I had referred to Lena as the madam of the house. A small smirk tugged at my lips.
It wouldn’t be long before she became that officially.
With that thought, I turned and headed into the house after her.
