He pressed her hand against his heart as he looked into her eyes. “Only then will the guilt go away. I want to build a life with you and the kids without this weight hanging over us. I want to give you real happiness.”
She could see the pain in his eyes, but it was so brief that it almost went unnoticed, breaking her heart even more.
“Jayden, you fool!” she wanted to yell at him, but the words would not come. Finally, she looked away and choked out, “Fine.”
For a long time, silence hung between them.
“Nora, come here,” Victoria said, gesturing towards her.
Jayden set her down and gently patted her braids. “Go on.”
Victoria knelt beside Nora and held her hand. She looked at her daughter and spoke quietly. “Nora, give your dad a big hug and say you love him. We’ll all be together again before you know it.”
“It’s okay, Victoria; you don’t need to force Nora.” Jayden began to protest, but Victoria stopped him.
“Let her,” she said softly. “It’ll be a while before she sees you again.”
Nora nodded and gave Jayden a big hug. She then whispered, “I love you, Daddy.”
The warmth of her embrace struck him like a punch in the chest. He drew her even closer and responded. “I love you too, Nora.”
Victoria stood, her expression steady, and took Nora’s hand. “Say goodbye to Daddy, Nora.”
Even as a child, Nora could sense her mother’s emotions. She smiled sweetly as she waved at Jayden. “Goodbye, Daddy.”
Jayden’s eyes misted as he held her face in his hands and gave her a gentle kiss. “Take care of yourself and Zion, okay?”
Looking up, he caught Victoria’s gaze. “Look after them, and yourself. Wait for me.”
Victoria did not respond, instead offering him a small, steady smile. “Take care, Jayden.”
With that, she grabbed Nora’s hand, pushed the pram and walked away without looking back.
Jayden watched, dazed, as Victoria and Nora’s figures faded in the distance. When he heard footsteps behind him, he turned around and held out his hands with a cold, steely expression. “Let’s go.”
The guard hesitated as he took out the handcuffs. Just as he was about to lock them around Jayden’s wrists, he casually asked, ‘Mr Lewis, that woman who came to visit you, she’s the new CEO of Lewis Corporation, right? I heard she’s planning to leave the country with her kids. Was this visit just to hand over the reins? Will you be resuming your role as CEO once you’re out?’
What? Victoria’s leaving with the children?
Jayden’s head snapped up, his jaw tightened, and a vein throbbed across his forehead. He grabbed the guard’s collar and demanded, “Where did you hear that?”
The guard trembled, clearly shaken. He had expected this type of reaction.
Jayden’s cold stare and overall demeanour practically screamed stay away. He just wanted to turn around and run.
But he could not. Fate had chosen him for this “opportunity,” and there was no way out of it. He wished he had thought ahead and told the warden that if he was “accidentally” injured, he would be entitled to double compensation.
He replied by steeling himself: “I just spoke with Miss Victoria’s driver during my shift change, and he mentioned that she’s here to say goodbye. Apparently, she’s already booked a flight for tomorrow afternoon.”
As he spoke, he kept a close eye on Jayden’s face, hoping to gauge his reaction. Jayden examined the guard, piecing things together. He knew Victoria had done everything possible to get him released. Could this be another attempt to get him to leave prison?
He looked in the direction where Victoria had vanished, recalling how she had asked Nora to say goodbye. A shiver went down his spine.
Was she really planning to leave with the children?
No way. What would happen if she left him?
Jayden grasped the guard’s arm, his voice urgent. “Where’s the phone? I need to make a call.”
Finally, the guard let out a quiet sigh of relief, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead, knowing that he could now report back to the warden and keep his job. “It’s in the duty room. “I will take you there.”
Hello, this is Jayden Lewis. I want my release finalised by noon tomorrow!”Jayden spoke into the phone with a sharp tone. The lawyer on the other end sat up straight, replying respectfully,” Understood, Mr. Lewis!”
Jayden clenched his phone tightly, pausing before saying, “Find out what time Victoria’s flight is.”
The next day at noon, outside the prison, the lawyer quickly opened the car door, bowing respectfully as Jayden slid inside.
After Jayden was settled, the lawyer said, “Mr. Lewis, I have taken care of everything you requested. We have someone monitoring the airport, and I just received word that Ms. Victoria’s flight has been rescheduled for 12:00 p.m. today!”
