novelraw Chapter 110: She Had Become A Pariah
Chapter 110: She Had Become A Pariah
Chapter 110: She Had Become A Pariah
It was almost a week since Lyse’s accident, Levi sat in his home office, a heavy silence filling the room. Lyse’s accident and subsequent hospitalization had shaken him to his core. He had never felt so helpless, so utterly powerless.
The paparazzi furor had subsided. People were still talking but not as intensely as those first days. He spent most of his time at the hospital, beside her, hoping and praying for a miracle. Only James ever made an appearance, none of her family members ever showed up.
Her near death had gotten him to admit to himself that he loved her, truly loved her. He had also realized that forcing her to stay would be wrong. The dishonesty about who he was, their marriage, everything was just his fault and he could not stop beating himself about it.
Chris entered the room, his face etched with concern. "How is she?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Levi shook his head. "She is still in a coma. The doctors say it is too early to tell."
Chris nodded, his eyes filled with sympathy. "I am so sorry, Levi. I can’t imagine what you are going through."
After a moment of silence, Chris spoke again. "How is Brandon? Have you spoken to him yet?"
"He does not want to speak to me... or anyone for that matter." Levi said wearily as he rubbed a hand across his face which looked like a caveman’s thanks to his neglecting to shave. "And Sutton has been at my penthouse, Brandon has refused to reach out to him too."
Sutton had had to hole up in the apartment because she had become a pariah. All the people who had looked up at her in society were now looking down their noses at her. It was a wonder that she had not entirely broken down after.
"Don’t worry man," Chris said. "Everything will be alright, you will see."
Levi looked up, his eyes meeting Chris’s. "I have made a decision," he said, his voice steady. "I am going to grant her a divorce if..." his voice broke then he cleared his throat.
"When she comes out of the coma."
Chris was taken aback. "Are you sure that’s what you want, is that the best decision for you and the family?"
Levi nodded. "I love her, Chris." He admitted aloud for the first time. "More than anything. But I can’t force her to stay with me if she doesn’t want to, I should not have forced her to stay. I will let her go, even if it means losing everything."
Chris knew that Levi was referring to the impending reading of his father’s will. If Levi was not married at the time, he would lose control of the company to that despicable Bret.
"You know what that means, don’t you?" Chris asked, his voice filled with concern. "You are going to lose everything."
Levi shrugged. "I am willing to take that chance. I can’t live with myself knowing that I have trapped her in an unhappy marriage. It has been one misery to the other since I came into her life"
Chris sighed. He knew there was no changing Levi’s mind. He had always been a firm man, a man who held his word above all else.
"Does your mother know how you feel about this?" Chris pushed.
"My mother and sister will be well taken care of, no matter what happens to the company." Levi shrugged.
"I’ll support you, no matter what," Chris said with a sigh. "But please, be careful. Don’t let this decision consume you."
Levi nodded, his gaze fixed on the window. He knew that the road ahead would be difficult, but he was determined to do what was right, even if it meant sacrificing everything that he had fought so hard to keep.
"What have you found out about the person responsible for leaking the story about Brandon’s paternity, not many people knew about that." Chris asked, his brow creased.
"It was Mr Cameron." Levi said listlessly.
Doyle Cameron was the lawyer who had drafted the agreement between Sutton and Levi about what to do with Brandon’s paternity. Doyle had been one of the Van Doren’s lawyers until it was discovered that he was plotting with a rival company to cheat them. He had been promptly fired.
Apparently, some years ago someone offered to pay him a large sum of money to give any information about Levi. Since there had been only a few people who knew about Brandon, Levi had very few people to check. It had been pretty easy catching Doyle with his pants down.
Levi had also discovered who had been responsible for the troll post that sent that mob after Lyse at the hospital. It was Brooke. She did not have the tech savvy to hide the fact that she was the one creating the account, it had been easy finding that out. Levi was too worried about Lyse to think about dealing with her right then.
"What are you going to do to him?" Chris asked, almost feeling sorry for the man who will surely not get it easy.
Doyle Cameron must have been stupid to think that he could get away with betraying Levi like that. He would never make that mistake again.
"I will let him be... for now." Levi said, his voice chilling. "The most important thing right now is Lyse’s recovery."
*
Chris left Levi’s house and headed straight for his apartment. He created the doorman before going into the elevator. At the door, he fumbled for his keys, unlocking the door to his quiet home.
Usually, his loyal dog, Lady, would be bounding towards him, tongue lolling stupidly, looking unacceptably cute. But today, the apartment was eerily silent and dark. A sense of unease crept over him as he stepped inside.
He flipped on the lights, and his heart skipped a beat. Sitting on his favorite armchair, was the last person he expected to see in the world, stroking Lady, who seemed to be very content in their presence.