<spanng="EN">Roger’s POV


    <spanng="EN">I woke up with a fierce headache, and my mouth tasted like I had licked cotton balls. I was surprised to see it was noon. I was reallyte for work. I had a few drinksst night. I was furious about what my mother had done, and couldn’t fall asleepst night. My father even backed me up that they should never have done it. Sasha made my drinks, and by the third one, I didn’t remember anything else. It was just like when we reconnected in Paris almost three months ago.


    <spanng="EN">My mother had been so smug when I got homest night. She really thought she had dealt with Elizabeth. She didn’t even understand that filling a false police report was against thew. Add the false statements she made and the bogus deed. Mom doesn’t know that she’s in deep. She was smiling andughing about having Elizabeth arrested.


    <spanng="EN">I had looked around the room, at the three of them. Mom, Regina, and Sasha were all acting like they had won. Because they honestly believed they had. They believed that as long as Elizabeth was on her own, they could do whatever they wanted to her. Dad was pissed. He actually yelled at Mom for what she had done. I was d that he was backing me up on this. At least he was taking this seriously.


    <spanng="EN">I came into the living room, and Mom seemed surprised that I was still home. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”


    <spanng="EN">“Production was stopped, as I didn’t sign the expired renewals. I thought we would both own the copyrights after we got married, but Elizabeth canceled the wedding. I don’t know what else I’m going to do. After what you three did to her yesterday, I know she isn’t going to allow me to use any of her designs anymore,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">“Just make new designs, Roger. Do I have to tell you how to do everything?” Mom huffed, rolling her eyes.


    <spanng="EN">“You don’t get it, Mom. I have a design team, but a great design doesn’t just happen because you want it to. It takes time and effort to create a timeless piece. One that speaks to people. Hertest creations were exceptional, but she didn’t give them to us. It’s like she knew what I was nning to do, and blocked me at every step,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">“Roger, you run thatpany, not Elizabeth. Don’t worry about it. Losing one designer won’t destroy yourpany. Where else can she go? Sasha was smart enough to put the word out about those stolen designs. They belong to yourpany, not just Elizabeth. If she tries to use them, we will just sue her. Once she calms down and realizes that she has nowhere else to go, she’ll be forced to return. She has to, who would hire her after we used her of theft? You have Sasha now, and she’s a designer, too. Elizabeth has always thought too highly of herself. She can’t go against us. She doesn’t have the money to do that. Just sit back and wait for her to return. She’ll be back by the end of the week, I guarantee it,” Mom told me.


    <spanng="EN">“I hope you’re right, but seeing the way she smiled yesterday has me worried,” I replied. Elizabeth wasn’t upset; it was like she had anticipated what happened.


    <spanng="EN">“Just go on to work. I’m sure things are going to work out just fine. You just need to give it a little time,” Mom said as she ushered me out the door.


    <spanng="EN">Nothing worked out. The normally busy secretaries on my floor were quiet as I exited the elevator. There was always noise before, but you could have heard a pin drop today. Upon arriving at my office, I checked the market and saw that mypany’s stocks had dropped by thirteen percent overnight. When I started to open my emails, things got worse. My secretary then brought in official letters delivered from my investors, requesting their money back. They are demanding that I purchase their stocks back from them.


    <spanng="EN">What in the hell was going on? I tried to work for two hours, but ended up leaving because my headache was just getting worse. Medicine wasn’t even taking the edge off of it. When I arrived back at my parents‘ home, I just passed her and went straight up to my room. I needed peace, but I didn’t get any. My room is full of boxes. My parents didn’t have anywhere to store our belongings. I changed out of my suit to getfortable andy down on the bed. I needed to think.


    <spanng="EN">I had promised Sasha I would buy us a home as soon as things settled. I needed to get thepany back on track before I could make arge purchase. I couldn’t figure out if this was because of what my family had done yesterday. The scene they caused in front of thepany probably got the investors in an uproar. I had watched the footage, and it was exactly as bad as I thought it would be. I doubted the sudden mass exodus was because Elizabeth told the reporters, “I’m no longer with Cook Custom Jewelry.”


    <spanng="EN">Elizabeth had truly been the heart of thepany. Without her, it’s going to crumble. That was the entire reason I had expressly told my mother and Sasha that everything had to be done a certain way. I needed control of her designs. Yet Sasha and my mother, the very ones who came up with this n, weren’t following it. It seems like every time I turn around, they are trying to incite Elizabeth. They want to push her beyond her limits. It’s like they can’t control their actions anymore after they swore they could. I know with Sasha, it’s due to jealousy. Not because she loves me, but because she knew Elizabeth loved me. She feels threatened by Elizabeth and has been acting out.


    <spanng="EN">Elizabeth took a chance and jumped into this with me. My parents didn’t want to help me at all and were shocked by how well things had turned out for me. I admit my pride made me take the credit for our sess. I enjoyed how my parents and the rest of my family were treating me now. Now that I was a verified sess, I felt like I was more important to my family.


    <spanng="EN">But it was all Elizabeth. She took my idea and made it happen. Seeing her now, I hate that I ruined things between us. I made a mistake; Elizabeth would have been a much better choice to marry than Sasha. I really need to look into getting a divorce.


    <spanng="EN">I need to figure out how to get Elizabeth back. I need to marry her before mypany ends uppletely ruined. Once we are married, I’m sure she will give me the designs to use again. I just needed to pour on the charm. Sasha doesn’t respect me for anything more than a way to get what she wants. Elizabeth doesn’t spend money like Sasha does. She was clearly the better choice between the two of them. Now that Elizabeth has slimmed down, I’m more than happy to be the husband she always wanted.


    <spanng="EN">I’m racking my brain trying to figure out how I can get her back. I doubt she knows that I married Sasha. If she did, I know she would have confronted me about it, instead of just giving me my ring back. She loves me. She wouldn’t just calmly walk away from me. She was the one who demanded we get married. Even if she were mad, she wouldn’t let thepany we created together be destroyed.


    <spanng="EN">Yet the more I think about it, I think she’s fine with letting mypany copse. She mentioned a sinking ship yesterday after Mom came with the police officers. Is she really willing to lose everything she put into thepany just to prove a point? No, that’s not possible. She doesn’t have the kind of money to lose the millions she invested. Elizabeth was a highly intelligent woman. She wouldn’t do something like that.


    <spanng="EN">I’m having trouble figuring things out because Elizabeth has always been the one who ran things. I was the figurehead. I liked everything to be run by me, but I appreciated her handling the more mundane details. Why now? Why did she decide to do this? Could it be that Sasha told her that we were married? I wouldn’t put it past her. She swore to me that she would wait, but she kept hinting at it. Sasha’s always going through my phone. She could have got Elizabeth’s number. She might have sent something to Elizabeth’s phone, telling her what I did. I honestly wouldn’t put it past her after yesterday.


    <spanng="EN">I had been humiliated by what they had done. I finally gave up and went downstairs. Dad was home now, and when he saw me, he frowned. “Why aren’t you at work?” he asked.


    <spanng="EN">“I don’t feel well, I can’t shake this headache. I’m also trying to figure out how to get Elizabeth to return to work,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">“You don’t need her son. You told me what a good designer Sasha is; just let her do her job. That’s how you run a business. Hire talented people, and let them do their jobs,” my father replied.


    <spanng="EN">“All of our best designs belonged to Elizabeth. If she won’t sign them over to me, I’m ruined. Her design team is okay, mainly because she always helps them. The first drafts were always off, but she managed to help make them better. She has a gift to elevate any design. Sasha is nowhere near her level,” I replied truthfully.


    <spanng="EN">“Then why in the hell did you go off and give her job to Sasha? That doesn’t even make sense,” my father fumed.


    <spanng="EN">“Sasha wanted Elizabeth’s job. I was going to make her step down into the Design Manager’s position. That way, Elizabeth could still continue to make the necessary corrections. I had it all nned out. But Mom and Sasha can’t seem to let her alone. They both knew how this needed to work out. Instead of helping me, they are single–handedly dragging mypany down. We’re down today in the stock market. I’m losing several investors because of the stunt they pulled yesterday,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">Dad froze and turned to face me. “What did you just say?”


    <spanng="EN">“I said, mypany is taking a hit because of what Mom and Sasha pulled yesterday,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">“Your investors are pulling out? Why? Is there something you haven’t told us?” my father asked.


    <spanng="EN">“All our best designs belong to Elizabeth. She owns them, but she allowed thepany to use them. I downyed how important she was to thepany because I liked how you both started to respect me more. If I told you that we both owned thepany, you wouldn’t have been quite so proud of me. How could I have known this would happen? Everything’s falling apart now, and I don’t know how to fix it,” I answered.


    <spanng="EN">“What in the hell do you mean you don’t know how to fix it? You’ve been running yourpany for thest five years. What have you been doing all this time, if you weren’t the one running it?” My Dad asked in shock. “What else haven’t you told us?”